Livestock producers have one more week to put their names in the hat for an extra list of Crown lands opened for haying this year.
On May 18, the province announced that parcels of wildlife management areas and non-agricultural Crown land would once again be listed for casual hay permits, echoing similar provisions made in the last few years for a livestock sector struggling with dry conditions and low forage yields.
Newly opened parcels—along with any agricultural Crown lands earmarked for forage, but sitting unused—were listed on the Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development website. Producers were asked to contact one of the province’s farm production specialists to indicate their interest. If more than one producer was interested in a given parcel, the province said, that parcel would be allocated by draw. All others would be allocated on a first-come-first-serve basis.
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The draw date, the province said, would be June 11.
Now, the province has posted an additional list, with a draw date of June 21.
The province has said that those additional parcels were made available, “after further review.”
Agriculture and Resource Development Minister Blaine Pedersen urged producers to let the province know if there are any Crown land parcels that are not on the list, but should be added.
“We’re doing everything we can to make sure that any available Crown land is available, that’s not already allocated, that can be allocated for hay,” he said.
Producers can access lists of available land, as well as contact information for their local farm production specialist, at the Manitoba Agriculture website.
